Tragic Memory
by PurpleSara
Summary: "Mama, who is this person?" "Well, this was a person I once loved..." Amu relays a tragic memory that happened in the past. Supposed to be Tadamu, but it's not extreme. Mentions of Ikuto. One-shot.


**Hello therezz everybody again! This fanfic has a little twist today… it's gonna be a "Tadamu" fanfic :D! Although there will be mentions of Ikuto, so be warned! **

**I do not own Shugo Chara! or the characters (except for their children *gasp!*); the rest belong to Peach Pit.**

* * *

_Para para… para para… _**(A/N: Japanese onomatopoeic for the sound of rain falling.)**

It was a typical rainy day one April afternoon. People bustling about with umbrellas, children jumping into puddles and getting themselves wet, people watching the river in the park as the rain seems to make it flow faster, and, of course, lots of people staying at their snug homes.

Let's take a look at one of those homes, shall we?

Perhaps about a quarter of a mile away from the park, there lay a little modern house painted light blue, the property being a little larger than most houses have.

This is the Hotori residence. The master of the house is Tadase. He works at a business called _Easter_. But right now he is at his snug home, as it is Saturday. His wife is called Amu. She has two jobs as an athletic coach and an artist. It is her day off too, and is resting in her home, but not in the same place as her husband. They have two children: Akio, who is five, and Takara, who is three. Amu is two months pregnant at the moment.

So now that we're done with the introduction, let's move on.

* * *

Amu was in the living room doing some painting. As her brush moved swiftly across the canvas, she relaxed against the soft pitter patter of the rain.

She stopped for a moment, deciding to take a break. She got up and made herself a cup of tea in the kitchen before going back into the living room and relaxing on the couch.

Amu rested her head on the soft cushion of the couch and relaxed once more at the sound of the rain. She loved afternoons like these. It made her feel refreshed while thinking of ideas of how to make her painting more creative. She sipped her earl grey tea.

She laid her head back against the couch once more, staring at the ceiling. She closed her eyes while thinking of past memories, particularly about Tadase. He's grown a lot more mature ever since we last saw him… You know, deeper voice, broader shoulders, and he's also lost most of his princely looks and gained more of "kingly" looks. She blushed as she pictured him and longed to see him and kiss him all over… even though he was in the same house doing something else.

_I'm so lucky to have a husband so kind and caring as him, _she thought. _It makes me happy to know that he loves all of me, not just a part of me like he did several years ago._

Of course, Amu has grown to love Tadase, too, even with his king-like personality he had in the past. Indeed, though, he's like the king of his own house, but he also loves his wife and children, like a good king would love the kingdom he's ruling over.

Then her memories flew over to another person whom she also once loved… she turned her gaze to the unfinished portrait and the photo that she was modeling the painting after with sadness in her eyes.

"_Okaa-san?" _A small voice startled her out of her thoughts. She turned her gaze to her two children who were standing near her. Pink-haired, red-eyed Akio, who had spoken, and blond-haired, honey-eyed Takara were looking at her with curious-looking eyes.

"What is it, you two?" Amu smiled and put down her half-finished cup of tea.

Akio, who is a somewhat shy but polite child, answered, "Well… we were wondering who you are painting."

Her heart stopped for a moment, as if he asked a question that leads you to death. She turned her gaze to the unfinished portrait again, with the face and hair finished but the body part undone, revealing a young man in his mid-twenties with dark blue hair and piercing dark blue eyes.

Amu turned back to her two children, who were still eyeing her curiously, smiled a little uncertainly, and said, "That's Ikuto."

The two children looked at each other, the name sounding unfamiliar to them. Takara spoke up this time in her babyish vocabulary, "Who'sh Ikuto?"

Amu gave them a slightly sad smile. She walked over to the little shelf that hung over the fake fireplace, took the photo of Ikuto, and showed it to them. "This is Ikuto," she said quietly.

Akio and Takara crowded over the medium-sized photo of Ikuto Tsukiyomi, their eyes showing signs of confusion, wonderment, and curiosity. Takara slightly blushed at Ikuto's good looks and charming smile.

Akio finally looked up and commented politely, "He looks like a nice person."

Amu smiled sadly and nodded. "He was. I think he might've liked you two," and then realizing something with a pang, added, "But then, you might not even be born…" she trailed off, wishing she hadn't said it.

The boy's red eyes grew wide and asked, "Why, Mother?"

The pink-haired woman sighed and didn't answer for a moment. Finally, she uttered, "Because I might have been married to him instead."

Takara asked curiously, "What do you mean, Mama?"

Amu smiled sadly once again and said, "Come, sit on the couch. I think it'll take a while to explain this."

Her two children did so and waited eagerly for the story.

* * *

Tadase looked up from his paperwork and found that it was 3:30 in the afternoon. He sighed and pulled back in his chair to rest his eyes, deciding to take a little break.

Tadase wondered what his wife was doing. _Most likely painting, _he thought. He grew happy at the sight of Amu's face as she flashed in his mind and decided to go downstairs to get a cup of hot green tea as an excuse to see her.

He got up from his desk, one of his stray hair strands fluttering in front of his face, and brushed it back.

The blond-haired man (I say, much more kingly in his looks now!) went softly down the stairs, so as not to make any noise. He wanted to surprise Amu, but he hoped it wouldn't startle her out of concentrating on the painting or whatever she was doing.

As he was approaching the living room, he heard the voices of Amu and his two children, or "prince and princess" as he frequently calls them. He stopped when he heard the name "Ikuto" mentioned.

He smiled sadly as he thought of "Ikuto-nii-san", as he used to call him (and still calls him that). Sure, they had hard feelings in the past, but that was all gone now, and he started to love him like an older brother again. He knew that Amu once loved Ikuto and not him, and she even confessed to that, but after what happened… Tadase grimaced as he thought of the painful memory. He stayed behind the wall that led to the living room and listened in on his wife's and children's conversation.

"…uto was a person that I once loved," he heard Amu say. "I also thought that I loved your father more than him, but I gradually realized that I loved all of Ikuto, and I only loved your father's outer character, and not his inner character also."

Amu paused for a moment when Akio asked, "Then why did you marry Father?"

His wife laughed slightly, but with a hint of sadness in it. "I'm getting to that," she paused again before continuing, "You see, it's like this… Ikuto was on a journey to search for his father for six years. He would occasionally come back to see me, but that would only be like twice every year. Ikuto never gave up in the search for his father, until he finally found him, when I was 18 years old. And then…" she paused abruptly.

Tadase knew what was coming next. He also felt the same pain she felt, although maybe not as great. He knew how hard the next words would come out.

"… While Ikuto was travelling back with his father on an airplane…" her voice trailed off, but she gathered up strength to say the next words. "The airplane had a problem… one of the engines failed. They got everyone into the safety gear, but even that wouldn't help… the airplane… crashed into the ocean and…" Amu's next words choked with tears, "... Ikuto drowned."

Tadase's face was covered with his hair as he remembered the news on the TV that an ANA airplane crashed somewhere in the Japan Sea. He remembered the sudden pain and sadness he felt as the list of the deceased scrolled across the screen and found Ikuto Tsukiyomi was one of them. His father was all right, and he's now somewhere with his wife.

Amu was now sniffling with tears as their children remained silent, feeling some of the pain that she felt, although not quite understanding her feelings, young as they are.

Amu struggled to finish her story, "So… after a few months, your father proposed to me, but of course I was too stricken with grief to accept his proposal. He was very patient in letting me choose my decision and comforted me a lot. And then I began to love him more and more and cherished the moments we spent together. I even began to love his inner character a little bit," she laughed lightly, and Tadase smiled.

"So after I started to love him as much as I loved Ikuto, I finally accepted his proposal and we got married when we were 20 years old," Amu finally finished her story. The room was quiet for several minutes.

Akio spoke up and said politely, "Thank you, Mother, for sharing a story with us, even though it was painful for you. I think we'll leave you alone now," and he went off with Takara towards the playroom.

Tadase waited for a few minutes before he went into the living room, where Amu still had tears on her face. Amu looked up, saw Tadase, and smiled weakly at him. "I was just telling…" she started.

"I know, I heard from behind the wall," he interrupted her politely.

Amu sighed and looked at the picture of Ikuto again before setting it back on the shelf.

"Sometimes I wonder how my life would have been if I'd married Ikuto," Tadase heard her mutter quietly. He felt a little pain in his chest, as if Amu didn't love him like she loved Ikuto.

Then, realizing what she said, Amu turned back to Tadase and reassured him, saying, "That doesn't mean I don't love you, Tadase. I really do love you, I think it may be even more than I once loved Ikuto. It's just that I sometimes wonder… you know."

Tadase smiled understandingly and nodded. He knew what she meant. She was just wondering out of curiosity, not really out of wishfulness.

Amu sighed contentedly, admiringly looking at her husband. She went over to him and hugged him tightly. He returned the embrace, leaving little kisses in her hair.

She smiled at the affection he was giving her. "I really do love you, Tadase. With all my heart. I wouldn't have children with you if I didn't," she said quietly with a slight blush.

He chuckled and said with his (rich) deep voice, "I know, Amu. I love you, too," he pulled her back to look at her face, which was no longer streaked with tears, but glowed with love for him.

She smiled and said shyly, "It's really amazing how you've matured… You look even more attractive than you looked back in elementary school. I think other women are jealous of me," she laughed.

He grinned. "As do you. You're also really attractive, I even think other men are jealous of _me!" _he laughed, then looked lovingly at his wife, who shared the same gaze.

Before she knew it, she was pulled into a soft and gentle kiss. How lovely his lips felt against hers! Or her lips felt against his! She put her arms around his neck as his arms slid around her waist and deepened the kiss.

They pulled back, flushed from the kiss, yet felt happy together. They hugged again, with Tadase stroking her pink hair that was now to the middle of her back.

"Amu-chan," his rich, deep voice whispered in her ear. Amu blushed as she recalled the days when he always called her "Amu-chan", yet now, as he is older, it sounds more… seducing, maybe?

Amu smiled teasingly into his broad chest, and breathed, "Tadase-kun," also using the childish form. Tadase blushed as her butterfly-like voice uttered his name.

He pulled back again, caressing her cheek with his seemingly large but soft hand and kissed her lips softly. Once more melting her into his embrace, he uttered:

"Amu, my queen of this little kingdom…"

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**PHEW! Finally done! I know I'm gonna get criticized for not adding a lot of Tadamu moments and typically, I mentioned more of Ikuto… but I had this idea in mind so I carried it out! I hope it satisfies some of you Tadamu fans… :S**

**Anyhow, I'll take a shower now! ****またね！****:]**


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